The Book of Earth
by Player One
Summary: Michael turned and looked down on Castiel. "You are just another item on God's lists of mistakes Castiel! He made you to be like Heaven's greatest failures! With your weak body and wings like Lucifer, perhaps my brothers and sisters will cast you out of heaven as well?"
1. In the Begining

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth.

No, that's not right.

In the beginning, God created heaven. At first heaven was somewhat bare. It was mostly a vast space of white light extending as far as the eye could see. God enjoyed the calm that the light brought him, yet there was something missing in his paradise. God looked around at the emptiness and decided that it should be filled. First he added grass. That was all well and good, very pretty and all, but the grass just stood still. So God added wind to blow the grass around a bit. Then he decided the wind was to strong so he made it into a little breeze. That was much nicer.

God continued to add things to his paradise. There were hills for the grass to roll over, and trees put into valleys and onto peaks, the trees made fruit that was delicious and sweet. God enjoyed this paradise, this garden of sorts, yet he had no one to enjoy it with. So God decided to create a companion.

God's companion had to be kind. The companion must be of good intentions, with a good heart and a wise mind. As he thought of what this companion should be like, a speck of light began to form in front of him. As this companion grew more detailed in his mind, the speck of light grew bigger and brighter, until it was the size of one of the fruits in God's garden. The light gradually faded away until it revealed a beautiful little baby floating above the grass. The glow that was coming off of him made him seem to be the color of the sun. Little golden white wings protruded from his back, and they flapped occasionally to keep him off of the ground. God smiled down at the baby.

"My child, welcome to my garden. You shall be named Michael, and you will be the first of many."

As time went on, God created hundreds more of these little creatures, which he now called angels. They each seemed to have different interests and personalities. Michael, his first, liked to spar with his brothers Raphael and Uriel. Naomi liked to boss all of her brothers and sisters around as if she were the commander of an army. God occasionally had to remind her of the peace in the garden. Gabriel was a tricky one. He enjoyed playing jokes on all of the angels, especially his brother Lucifer. Gadreel was a quiet one, so God created books, stories written on paper and bound together, for him to read about creatures with fatal flaws who went to war and committed atrocious acts, yet were inherently of good heart. Gadreel read these books as quickly as he could, and he was building up quite a collection.

God loved his children, and he wanted to give them a gift. So he started to create the Earth, which he hoped would be a ground they could observe. He decided that those who lived on the Earth would be able to tell the passage of time. There would be animals to help these creatures live, whether they were for food or for assistance. It would have grass, like heaven, and a slight breeze to wave the grass around as it rolled over the hills. God added great bodies of water that would roar like the animals he had created, but were also beautiful like the dancing grass. Then came the creatures that would live on this Earth. He made them similar to his angels, with two legs, two arms, a head on a sturdy pair of shoulders, complete with eyes and a mouth, a nose, and ears. He made a creature and named him Adam, and put him in a garden on the Earth that would serve as Adam's own paradise. Then God went to Gadreel and told him of what he had created.

"Father, may I keep watch of Adam so I may see how he lives? These creatures, these humans as you call them, sound similar to the creatures in the books that you created for me, yet they are pure and good. May I observe him?" God accepted Gadreel's offer, so Gadreel went down to Earth to guard Adam's garden. As God watched Gadreel glide down to the ground below, one of his oldest sons approached him.

"Father," began Lucifer, "I understand that you have made new creatures. Why? We are superior in all ways to them. Your sons and daughters are powerful and beautiful. Why create these creatures that can be struck down with the swipe of a hand?" Lucifer raised his hand as if preparing to blow down the Earth. God smiled at him.

"Lucifer, my son, I created these creatures as a gift to you and your brothers and sisters. I see potential in these humans, they can grow to be something beautiful. There is no greater gift than watching the beauty of creation and development, and this will be my greatest creation."

"But do you not love us Father?" Lucifer cried, "My brothers and sisters are better than these fragile creatures. If you have so much faith in them, more than you do with us it seems, perhaps you should test them? Plant a Tree of Knowledge in the center of your human's garden, and forbid him to eat its fruit. Then you will see how quickly he is dissatisfied with the gifts you allow him to have." God reluctantly agreed to Lucifer's challenge and proceeded to plant the Tree of knowledge in Adam's garden. He warned Adam not to eat of the fruit, then he went back to Heaven to observe.

Lucifer had a plan. There was a spot in the garden that God could not see. He flew down to earth and stood on the outside, waiting for Adam to appear. The human walked by, and Lucifer suppressed a grimace.

"Adam!" he called out. The human turned, surprised to see an angel this close to the garden, "Adam, my friend. Have you eaten from the Tree of Knowledge?" Lucifer asked. Adam shook his head.

"No I have not, angel. God has forbade me from eating from it." Lucifer gave Adam a surprised look.

"But surely one bite would not hurt? I have heard that fruit from the Tree of Knowledge is especially delicious. It is crisp and juicy, possibly the best you have ever tasted." Lucifer raved. Adam looked longingly to the tree, but quickly turned away and shook his head.

"No, I will not eat from it, not unless God tells me to."

Lucifer growled, then flew away. This was not a problem, for Lucifer had a secondary plan. He approached God again.

"I have spoken with Adam, and he seems to be lonely. I assume he would never be as brash to ask for more than what you have already given him, but perhaps you could make him a companion? Someone to compliment the qualities that he already has?" Lucifer inquired. God looked at him. God had seen a darkness in Lucifer appear recently. The way he acted towards his younger brothers and sisters. The way his mouth curled downward in disgust at the new creatures that God had made. And sometimes in a passing glance, Lucifer's eyes appeared pitch black with hatred. But now Lucifer seemed of good intention. His hatred for the humans looked diminished. The darkness was still there, but it was directed towards something else. God agreed to the idea and created a companion. He named her Eve, and he placed her down in the garden and watched as she and Adam conversed with each other. He smiled, satisfied that they were happy.

Lucifer was satisfied as well, but for different reasons. He went back down to the garden, but this time he went to Gadreel who was standing outside the gates. Lucifer smiled cheerfully at his brother and continued walking past him, but Gadreel put out his arm.

"Brother, I have to inquire what business you have in the garden." Gadreel cheerfully said. He looked at Lucifer expectantly waiting for an answer. Lucifer thought hastily.

"As our father says, this is his greatest creation! I come only to observe and to revel in the beauty of it." Lucifer answered while trying to hide the smugness in his voice. His father's words would be his father's demise. Gadreel seemed satisfied with the answer.

"What a wonderful idea! Enjoy yourself dear brother." Gadreel moved out of the way and Lucifer proceeded forward. As he neared the Tree of Knowledge, Lucifer transformed into a creature of scaly skin and split tongue. It was a creature of his own making, something that was not in the garden or up in heaven. He made his way up the tree and waited for Eve to appear.

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><p>God was resting when Gadreel appeared with a desperate look in his eyes.<p>

"Father!" he cried out. There were tears running down his face. It was strange, God didn't know that his angels could cry until then. He moved toward his son.

"What is it Gadreel? What has happened?" Gadreel looked toward the ground.

"I let Lucifer into the garden, he said he just wanted to see your creation. But he went to the Tree of Knowledge as a serpent of his own making, and waited for Eve there. She came to the tree, and he called her over. Somehow he got her to agree to possession, and he forced her to eat the fruit of the tree, the fruit that you forbade the humans to eat! Adam and Eve were so afraid of your wrath that they left the garden. And Lucifer is nowhere to be found!" Gadreel's voice cracked at the end.

"I'm right here Gadreel." A voice said drily. Lucifer appeared in front of them. The darkness was back. His eyes were pitch black, and his smile was sharp and evil. "You lost the bet Father. It is my brothers and sisters and I who are the superior creation." Lucifer laughed.

"Gadreel, go get Michael and Uriah. Tell them that Lucifer…" God hesitated. He had hoped that this day would never come, "Lucifer will be cast out of heaven, for his actions against humanity."

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><p>After the decision was made, God cast Lucifer out of Heaven in a flaming blaze. God disappeared soon after, and Heaven slowly descended into chaos. The archangels blamed Gadreel for all of it, and they put him into prison. Without God to keep things at peace, there was war temporarily, but soon the older angels won and claimed rule over heaven.<p>

There was one angel though who didn't fit as another cog in this machine that the archangels had created, and that was Gabriel. He kept looking for God for months in human time. He searched all over heaven and the garden to find their seemingly forgotten father, and found not a trace of him.

One day, the final day that Gabriel searched for their father, Gabriel saw glow coming from a clump of trees. He slowly moved toward it, cautious of what could be there. These days the younger angels had become rambunctious, eager to rise in the ranks of the angels. They tended to challenge whoever they came across. Gabriel felt no need to be challenged today, so his steps were wary. He approached the trees and pushed the branches out of the way. There in a woven olive branch basket was a beautiful golden baby. He was sleeping peacefully, so Gabriel was careful not to wake him as he cautiously picked him up. _An angel? Impossible. God hasn't been here for many days. _Gabriel thought. Though as soon as he touched the angel, he knew that this was one of his brothers. He knew that this,

was_ Castiel._

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><p>Castiel swung the blade with all the strength he could muster. He could feel his heart frantically beating, his lungs struggling for breath. This must be what it felt like to die.<p>

"No Castiel, you're doing it wrong!" Michael shouted at him. Michael picked up the blade and demonstrated, for the twelfth time that day, the apparently correct way to swing the sword. Castiel gasped for breath and nodded, ready to try again.

Angels were not supposed to have frantic heart beats. They were not supposed to be short of breath. They were not supposed to be afraid of death. Castiel was obviously different, but not in the good way. He was young, so some weakness was expected of him, but not to this degree. He was extremely weak. The archangels continuously tried to train him, yet an aptitude for weaponry was never displayed. And in this day and age of the angel hierarchy, soldiers were the most valued to fight that which haunts the Earth.

Castiel had never met his infamous brother Lucifer, and he never wanted to. The older angels told tales of the wolf like grin and the pitch black eyes that were the last they saw of him before he was cast out of Heaven. Ever since then his demons have begun ravaging the Earth. They tear apart human souls like coyotes tearing at a carcass. The angels never planned on having a planet to protect. But with some obscure words about it being a "Gift" and "Gods greatest creation", there was a sense of obligation to their long absent father. The humans seemed to be displaying an aptitude of protecting themselves though, they began to notice the demons. A vengeful father may begin to hunt due to the death of his wife. A daughter may begin to hunt to avenge the slaughter of her family. Though the angels disliked these humans, Castiel had a certain fondness for them. Not just the hunters either, all of the humans. They lost a father as much as he and his siblings did, though some of them didn't believe it. These humans were fighters. They believed that the Earth wasn't supposed to be that bad, and they were right. Though Lucifer, or Satan as they began to know him, is only mentioned once or twice in most religions, he played a bigger part in their downfall than they might think. Castiel admired the human's ability to fight, and that ability was something he didn't have it seemed.

"Michael, if I keep going I'm going to collapse. Can I please be done for today?" he asked through gasping breaths. Michael was talking to one of the other archangels, he wasn't paying attention to him. Castiel quietly put his selected weapons away so to not bother his brothers and sisters and walked away from the training arena.

Walking through heaven was like walking through paradise. There was a place similar to it on the planet Earth, called Yellow Stone, though Castiel could not remember when it would be made a National Park. The landscape itself was still there though, waiting to be discovered as one of the most awe inspiring places on the Earth. Castiel always enjoyed the instant when he walked out of the arena and the sun blinded his eyes, blocking out the landscape so it could be revealed slowly as he got back his vision. It was an amazing sight.

Castiel walked stiffly and slowly along the path. He didn't really have a place he was going. Angels rarely sleep or eat, so there was no need for personal homes. Castiel slept more often than the others, maybe two or three times a human month. It was always hard to tell time in heaven because it was rarely night. When a moon broke the horizon all the angels would come out and watch as the stars slowly appeared in the sky. Heavens stars were much brighter and more in number than Earths stars, though if Earth turned off their lights and machines once in a while they would be able to see almost the same amount. The appearance of the stars was one of the few times that all of the angels were at peace.

As Castiel walked he watched the sky and longed to spread his wings. Feather by feather they stretched out slowly behind him. They were jet black with a hint of gold at the tips, not exactly the color but more of a glow. He made sure that no one was watching as he stretched each one carefully. The only other angel to have black wings was Lucifer, so when the angels realized that Castiel had black wings it was just another thing to make him different and generally disliked.

Castiel's wings were still a little small for his body size. He hadn't learned how to fly yet, which was something that angels at his age could do easily. He liked the wind that his wings could create though. He moved them back and forth gently at first, watching as the grass moved in the gentle breeze he was creating. Then he allowed himself a grin and begin pushing them with power. He laughed out loud as he watched the leaves blow in the trees and the loose petals on the ground swirl up into the air in front of him.

"Castiel."

Castiel stopped abruptly, which was a bad idea. The force of the stop flipped him over in the air. Luckily some of Michael's training helped and he landed on all fours. Gabriel laughed.

"That's the closest you've come to flying yet!" he said with a smile. He walked up to Castiel and pulled him off the ground. Castiel brushed himself off.

"Oh Gabriel, it's you." Castiel said with a hint of awkwardness in his voice. Angels usually didn't play like this. The closest they ever came was a laugh during sparring. Gabriel chuckled.

"Oh, you sound so happy to see me. Is blowing the leaves off of trees really that interesting?" he asked.

"It is when you can't fly. I consider it good exercise." Castiel replied defensively.

"Relax!" Gabriel chided, "I was just wondering. Maybe I'll give it a go." Gabriel spread all four of his wings to their massive length. They were impressive. Lush and shiny, they were a warm auburn with hints of a sunset running from the middle of each one to the very tips. Gabriel threw his shoulders back and pulled his wings forward, bracing himself as he did so. The gust created blew every single leaf off of three trees. Castiel put both hands behind his head in an exasperated gesture.

"Fine, you win!" he chuckled softly. Castiel went up to each tree and touched them. He stood there healing them until all of the leaves came back. That was one thing he was good at, and he held a certain pride in the fact that he could heal better than some of the other angels. Gabriel called out to him.

"Well you may never be a soldier, but with that technique you could be Michael's healer one day!" The thought of healing Michael as he spoke of great battles to the other soldiers made Castiel shudder. Of all brothers and sisters he had met, the archangels were his least favorite. Though Gabriel was an archangel himself, Castiel never thought of his brother as one. Gabriel disliked the rest of the archangels almost as much Castiel did.

"So will you be joining the rest of the family for dinner tonight?" Gabriel asked as Castiel walked back towards him. Technically the angels held an official dinner every month or so to speak of battles, war plans, and other matters, but the family was so divided it was usually just an informal gathering of who ever showed up. Castiel considered it.

"Possibly. Will it just be ambrosia again?"

"Probably, though Naomi swears there's supposed to be pork at each meal." Gabriel replied. Castiel laughed, his sister always tried to organize things to a tee but the angels liked the madness for some reason.

"I'll see how I feel." Castiel answered with a little smile.

"You should socialize with your family. The humans would call you a teenager with that attitude!" Gabriel joked. Technically Castiel was a teenager, in human years he would be about nineteen but in angel years he was immeasurably older. It was another thing that kept him apart from the angelsk, because not only was Castiel one of the youngest angels, he was one of the last angels that God created. People believed he thought himself as special and constantly marginalized him for it, but Castiel knew he wasn't important. To be the last angel, so weak, so useless, how could he be? He looked up at the sky above. _Father, do I have a purpose?_ He asked that question to the sky almost every day, though the sky never answered. Gabriel patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey, chin up! I was only teasing. So, I'll see you at the dinner tonight?" Gabriel began to move away as he asked.

"Yeah, okay." Castiel smiled and nodded. He didn't want to disappoint his favorite brother. Gabriel walked away.

Castiel continued his 'exercise'. He began alternating wings, sometimes pulling both wings back to create a gust of wind that billowed out behind him. He flicked both backwards with a small grin and put his hands on his hips. It was quite a heroic pose, yet it didn't fit him. He was about to stuff his hands in his pockets when the gust he had just created knocked something on his head. Disoriented, Castiel looked around to see what hit him.

On the ground was an old book, with a traditional looking binding and the Enochian symbol for Earth on the cover. Castiel bent down to pick it up. He opened it, marveling at the creaking spine and the dry pages. He had never touched a real book before, and as far as he knew the only books in heaven were in the books that the record keepers kept. He was amazed at the sensation of the leather between his fingers, it felt as though that the universe was at their tips. Castiel flipped the book the book over, his mind eager for more. One the back was a name scrawled in a dark ink: _Gadreel._ It sounded like and angel's name, but Castiel had never heard it before. Determined to learn more, he began to search for the book's hiding place.

Not many angels knew this, but Castiel's power to find things was exceptional. He could focus on an image or an idea of whatever he desired and his senses would lead him to it. He now focused on a dark place, maybe covered with leaves and dirt. It was harder to find something when he hadn't seen it before, but he was determined to find more of the beautiful books that belonged to the name on the back of them. The breeze picked up as Castiel searched and blew leaves past his face. Castiel straightened and followed the trail of gold, yellow and green through the air until it rested at a stop in front of a dark hole at the base of a tree. The tree was tall and broad, with thick branches fit for human children to play on. Castiel stooped to pick the grounded leaf up, but stopped when he saw a flash of blue peeking out from the shadows of the hollow tree. He crouched, reaching his hand into the hole, and pulled out another book. The same symbol was on the front and _Gadreel_ was written on the back with a neat hand. As Castiel completely pulled the book out of the tree he heard a thump as if something had fallen. He looked again into the tree and saw another book with the same markings, except this time the leather was black. He craned his neck and saw that there were more books on top of that one. Castiel pulled himself out of the hole and dug his nails into the bark of the tree. He may have been weak, but he was strong enough to peel away bark. Gently he pulled until he saw an entire tower of books that had been stacked in the tree. Hanging on the sack was an old empty satchel, once again labeled with the name _Gadreel, _but in a smaller hand that was harder to see. Castiel pulled the satchel off of the top of the stack, a feat hard to achieve due to the stacks immense size, and held it in his hands. It was made of leather as well, thought it was worn and soft. _This bag was well used,_ Castiel thought. He slung the bag over his shoulder and grabbed the book he had found on the ground. Carefully he pushed the two sides of the bark back together and healed the tree. It looked like he had never opened it up in the first place.

Castiel turned away from the tree and walked back towards the training area. That was where they usually held meetings, so the dinner was probably near there. There was a bounce to his step and a grin on his face, neither of which he usually allowed himself to have. Finding new things always excited him, especially things he had never seen before. Recently he discovered that if you blew air out of your mouth with your mouth in and O and your tongue at the right angle, you could hit a tone. And just like singing you could change that tone by moving your mouth or vocal chords to hit the right note. Castiel had only done it once or twice correctly, but now that he was alone he practiced as free as a bird.

As Castiel whistled he took out the book in his new satchel. His whistling slowed to a stop as he opened it and began to read. The text was in ancient Enochian so it was a little flowery. The angels didn't like to admit it, but as heaven grew older they had adopted a more human pattern to their speech. The book itself described creatures of good heart who were given the chance of free will when they were created. Some of the creatures were good, and made wise decisions based off of pure thought and reasoning. Some of the creatures used their free will to do evil though, and their thoughts were full of hatred. Castiel felt a sense of familiarity as he read. He realized that he had stopped walking and had sat down in the middle of the path. Each page of the book brought new tales of these creature's good and evil. The final page concluded with a passage about how the creatures, through all their bad choices and evil decisions, could be seen as inherently good at heart. Castiel closed the book and stared at the Enochian symbol for Earth on the cover. _This book seems old. Older than the fall of Lucifer. All books in heaven were either written by Angels or by God, yet how could they know about Earth and the humans in such detail before God even created them?_ Castiel thought. He pondered these question for a time, his body getting chilled from the lack of motion. Then it hit him.

God knew he was going to create the Earth.

God knew that the humans were going to fail.

He had planned this since the beginning of the angels.

Castiel just didn't know _why. _

He hastily scrambled up off of the ground and stuffed the book back into the satchel. This was incredible information that just added to the list of _whys _that Castiel had swirling around in his head. He wasn't sure if the other angels would appreciate another _why,_ though. _I must keep this to myself until I know more. _He half walked half jogged back towards the training area, eager to get his mind off of the churning questions in his head.

He moved towards the sound of jovial noise in a field to the east of the training area. There were no tables or chairs, just some cushions and blankets thrown haphazardly onto the ground. The angels, there were more of them than usual, were spread around comfortably and sipping a bright yellow drink from goblets. A few of them were chatting, some were sleeping. It seemed that Castiel had missed the war strategies and updates. In the center of the group was Michael. He stood up and stumbled toward Castiel.

"Castiel! Br-hic-other!" he slurred. Michael was drunk. It wasn't easy for angels to get inebriated. When angels first discovered that humans had made alcohol, they had to drink whole taverns to feel the effects. But somewhat recently a group of angels had come up with ambrosia, a mix of juice from the fruits of Heaven's trees, the sparkling water from its rivers, and an herb that no one knew about. Castiel didn't enjoy the effects so he rarely partook in drinking it. Michael slapped him on the shoulder, making Castiel stumble a bit.

"So how is Heavens smallest angel?" Michael asked. Castiel frowned.

"Technically the cherubs are the smallest angels Michael." Castiel said. Michael laughed out loud.

"Always the jokes with this one!" he bellowed to his other brothers and sisters. They all laughed drunkenly. Michael pulled Castiel towards the group. Gabriel was there as well, though he seemed a little less inebriated than the rest of them. He nodded to Castiel, and Castiel smiled and sat down in the group. The conversation turned toward Earth, mostly about the idiocy of the humans and how much they all despised the hunters. Castiel was quiet as this was a topic he didn't particularly feel like arguing. The discussion wasn't his favorite, but Castiel was enjoying himself. No one was yelling at him. No one was pointing out his insignificance. No one was staring at him as if he didn't belong. It was a rare thing for Castiel to be this comfortable around his siblings.

"Where's the pork Naomi?" Gabriel poked at their sister. She shrugged, apparently drunk enough that she didn't care.

"I sent Samandriel to go get a pig, but he couldn't find one." she replied, "I think he just didn't want to slaughter it." she giggled. Castiel was sitting next to Samandriel and he could see the blush rising up in his cheeks. Samandriel was only a little older than Castiel, so though they were never really friends, Castiel felt as though they were comrades. He put his hand on Samandriels shoulder.

"It's alright Samandriel, you'll get it next time." Castiel said, trying to comfort him. Samandriel gave Castiel a grateful look.

"What's that Castiel?" Samandriel asked. Castiel looked down at where Samandriel was staring and froze. The satchel had opened and the book was almost completely visible. Castiel hastily stuffed it back in and pushed the satchel behind his back.

"Nothing." he mumbled. Samandriel leaned around to try and see.

"That wasn't nothing. That was a book!" Samandriel smiled, eager to see the rare object.

"Not so loud!" Castiel hissed. But it was too late. Michael's head shot up. He got up and walked toward the pair, and Castiel scooted back as Michael approached. The drunken smile was on his face, but there was a steely glare in his eyes. Michael leaned down to Castiel.

"A book? May I see, _brother?"_ he said brother deliberately as if to remind Castiel of his alliances. Castiel shook his head.

"I don't have a book. Samandriel must be seeing things."

"Angels do not _see _things, Castiel," Michael said with an edge of rage in his voice, "Give me the book." Castiel still refused. Michael shrugged and turned away, but at the last second whirled around and smacked Castiel in the face. Castiel fell down with a cry. Michael leaned down and scooped up the satchel, observing the name scrawled on the edge of flap. Michael's mouth curved into a sardonic grin. You could almost taste how thrilled he was at the prospect of bringing Castiel down. Michael bent down and pulled him up by the front of his shirt and pulled Castiel's face close to his.

"Do you know who _Gadreel_ is, Castiel?" he spit out Gadreel's name like poison. Castiel fervently shook his head.

"Gadreel. Ha! Heaven's most gullible, weakest, quietest angel." Michael had begun to pace, dragging Castiel behind him. Castiel could feel the tears stinging his eyes. "Gadreel was the one who let Lucifer into the Garden, Castiel. He was the one who we put into jail. He's still there, you know. I mean, I don't know if he's alive. I haven't checked, and I don't mean to for at least another millennia." With that Michael threw Castiel to the ground. "Do you see this, my brothers and sisters?" he shouted to the gathering crowd of angels, "This angel, this thing we bother to call _brother_, with his wings like Lucifer and his mind like Gadreel, he is weak! He is useless? Do you see his tears, brothers and sister? Did you know that the first angel to ever shed a tear was _Gadreel himself?_" he cried out. Michael turned and looked down on Castiel. "You are just another item on God's lists of mistakes Castiel! He made you to be like Heaven's greatest failures! Perhaps my brothers and sisters will cast you out of heaven as well?" Michael sneered at Castiel. A cheer rose up in the crowd around him. The tears were running freely down Castiel's cheeks. He scrambled to his feet and pushed through the bodies blindly, just trying to find a way out. He heard someone shout his name but he didn't look back to see who.

_This is what always happens. This is what will always happen. I am useless. I am the useless angel. _Castiel kept running as fast as he could. His wings began to trail behind him. His movements were so full of rage and his tears blinded him so badly that he almost didn't even notice that the wind had been caught in his wings and he was off the ground.

_I'm flying._

Castiel almost fell at the realization. Somewhere between the field and running he had gotten twenty feet into the air. He wobbled as he tried to keep himself up. But with each beat of his wings, Castiel felt power surging through his body. He was practically glowing. He began to go faster and faster, reaching speeds that he was certain no angel had reached before. The wind roared past his ears and stung his cheeks. Castiel closed his eyes.

_Take me somewhere where I can be useful. _he whispered to the wind.

Then everything went black.


	2. Mary-Anne

**Sorry the update took so long, and sorry for the short chapter! I haven't had free time for anything but sleep in a few weeks, so this update will be fairly short. I'll be adding a couple more thousand words to this chapter within the next couple days, and then Chapter 3 should be in 1-2 weeks. Thanks for waiting patiently!**

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><p>Castiel woke up in darkness. <em>The sun isn't supposed to set for quite some time. <em>Castiel shrugged and started to sit up, but he stopped as his body simultaneously hit four walls and something hanging from above. He froze. _Is this punishment? Did they put me in a box and cast me out? Is this the end?_ He began to panic, his breath hitching and his heart beating at an abnormal rate. He curled up into a ball and put his head between his hands.

"Mister, why are you crying?" a voice asked. Castiel looked up. A little girl had opened up the door to the side of the compartment that Castiel was in. He reached up to touch his cheek, feeling the wetness on his fingertips.

"I… I thought…" Castiel stammered. He wasn't in a box on his way to hell, yet the idea of not knowing where he was almost made him even more panicked.

"What'd you think, mister?" the girl asked. She was human, that was easy to tell. She had curly black hair and pale skin, and bright green eyes. She was also very young, probably eight human years old.

"I thought I was somewhere else." Castiel replied, "Where am I?"

"You're in my closet, mister." The girl admittedly seemed a little perturbed by that. "Are you a monster that's come to eat me?" she took a step back as if preparing to run. Castiel wasn't sure at this point if he was a monster or not.

"I don't _think_ so." Castiel told her. He tried to give her a kind smile, though with the look that the girl gave him it probably looked more like a grimace. Castiel wasn't familiar with the act of smiling. The girl glanced down.

"Then why do you got no clothes on?" she said as she started giggling. Castiel looked down and blushed furiously. Angels rarely felt shame, but he understood the taboo of nakedness in the human society. He quickly turned away.

"I have no idea, but it would be immeasurably kind of you to please get me some clothing to put on." Castiel tried to say kindly. He honestly had no idea what he was doing in a little human girl's closet. He had heard of the detestable humans who preyed on young children, and his situation probably looked similar. He had to try to stay calm.

The girl got a serious look on her face. She nodded affirmatively.

"I'm on it mister! My brothers at college, so I'll go get some of his clothes. That's a cool tattoo on your back by the way!" she said as she crept away quietly. Castiel started. _Tatoo? _He craned his neck around and caught a glimpse of detailed black feathered wings etched into the skin of his back. _Strange…_ Castiel thought through the facts, as Gabriel would tell him to do. First, Castiel didn't remember asking permission for this vessel he was in. He had never possessed a human before, so he wasn't familiar with the steps, but he knew that angels were supposed to ask permission from their vessels before they possessed him. Second, Castiel actually had no idea how to get to Earth in the first place, so how was he here? _Well, many strange things seemed to happen before I blacked out, so this must be something new. _Third, judging by the décor of the room and the little girls pajamas, Castiel was in the wrong century. Angels have never been able to time travel, they can only see into the future. From Heaven's perspective, Earth had only reached the Industrial Revolution. Castiel guessed he was in the 21st century, probably 2014. He could see a poster for the Russian Olympics hanging on the girl's wall.

_What is going on? _Castiel thought frantically. These new developments were frightening him. Not only could he now fly, but he could travel to earth, stay on earth without a human vessel, and time travel, the latter two were impossible for any angel to do. He felt the panic coming back, and his breath hitched as he tried to hold back a sob. Castiel heard the girl coming back down the hallway, so he wiped away the tears on his face and slowed his breath. She peaked around the edge of the door.

"Mister, I got your clothes!" she handed him a pillow case, probably taken from her brother's bed, filled with various items of clothing. Inside was a pair of narrow jeans, a pair of shoes with laces on top and made out of leather, a white t-shirt, and a tan trench coat. Castiel pulled all of the clothing on and examined himself in the girl's bedroom mirror, which was a little small for him so he couldn't see his head. He particularly liked the trenchcoat.

"Mister, you didn't tie your shoes." The girl chided. Castiel once again looked down at his feet. The laces hung haphazardly around him and would probably cause a lot of trouble once he began to move. He looked back up at the girl blankly.

"Do you not know how to tie your shoes?" she asked him, the teasing gleam in her eyes gone.

"I never learned how… I never needed to. In Heav- Where I come from I never wore shoes with laces like these. It was mostly sandals or slippers. That's what you call them right? The shoes that have your foot showing and the straps over the top?"

"Yeah, what else would you call them? Jeez, mister. I'll fix your laces for you!" Before Castiel could protest, the girl had crouched down in front of his feet and was expertly looping the laces together. She finished, and Castiel smiled down at her.

"Thank you very much." He said with genuine gratitude. Loose laces wouldn't help him in the situation he was in at the moment. He slipped the coat back off again, the girl's room was getting warm.

"If you're going outside you may want that on," she said, "it's pretty cold out there." Castiel looked out the girl's window and saw the gleam of ice on the streets. He nodded his thanks.

"You're very wise for your age. Your parents must have taught you well." Castiel said to her. The girl cast her eyes downward.

"Yeah, I guess…" she replied with a tinge of frustration in her voice. _Is something wrong with this girls parents? _Castiel thought back to his moments before he blacked out.

_But with each beat of his wings, Castiel felt power surging through his body. He was practically glowing. He began to go faster and faster, reaching speeds that he was certain no angel had reached before. The wind roared past his ears and stung his cheeks. Castiel closed his eyes._

_ Take me somewhere where I can be useful. he whispered to the wind._

"Perhaps…" Castiel muttered to himself. Perhaps this was why he was here? To help this girl in need? Castiel turned down to the little girl.

"Your name is Mary-Anne, correct?" Castiel asked the little girl. She nodded.

"How did you know that?" she seemed less scared and more amazed. Castiel wasn't exactly sure how he knew either, he had asked himself for her name and in floated up from the depths of his mind. _Maybe my power of finding things has grown as well._

"Well Mary-Anne, I have something to admit. I am an angel of the Lord, and I was sent here to help you." Castiel was giddy. He was finally getting the chance to be useful. Mary-Anne's eyes when from surprised, to amazed, and then to giddy.

"Really mister? You're an angel?" she paused for a moment. "But I'm not supposed to be talking to strangers." She was silent for a moment. Her bright green eyes went dark with consideration. Then she bounced up again. "Maybe if you can prove it to me, that you're an angel, you can help me!" _So she does need help with something._ Castiel smiled down at the girl, and searched through his mind of a way to prove to Mary-Anne his angelic power. As he thought, he began to feel a prickle at his back. He reached down the back of collar and felt around. He almost laughed as he realized what was happening.

"For me to prove it to you, I need to remove my shirt again. Is that alright?" Castiel asked Mary-Anne. She nodded.

"Like I said, I got a big brother. I'm not grossed out by that sort of thing." She said, satisfied with her grown-up demeanor. Castiel awkwardly pulled the back of his shirt up to his neck, and focused on the prickling feeling. At first there was silence, but then he smiled as he heard the little girl gasp.

What was happening was this. The detailed ink feathers etched into Castiel's back were slowly peeling away from his skin, plumping up into soft plumage as the tattooed wings extended farther and farther away from his body. Castiel smiled at his theatrics. His newfound power was quite useful.

A few of the feathers had floated down to the floor, and Mary-Anne bent down and picked one up. She held it up to her face, scrutinizing the lifelike texture of the feather like a scientist who had just discovered a new species. Castiel let the shirt drop back down to its original position, but it went straight through the ebony black wings like they weren't even there. The wings protruded through the fabric of the shirt without a tear. He turned back to Mary-Anne, careful not to knock over the items in the room with the wings. The girl had an amazed look on her face.

"Well, was that enough proof for you?" Castiel said with a small smile.

Mary-Anne looked up at him, her eyes so wide that Castiel could see himself in their reflection. Mary-Anne nodded, but her amazement quickly faded and was replaced with a frown. She sat down on her bed with her back against the pillows and her knees tucked under chin. Castiel sat down on the opposite end and crossed his legs, _Criss cross applesauce_, he thought to himself as he did so. Mary-Anne's eye moved back up to Castiel's.

"But… can you really help me?" she asked a second time. Castiel was silent for a moment.

"I can certainly try." he finally said. Mary-Anne smiled slightly. Then she was silent for a while longer. _Are all humans this quiet?_

"If you would prefer not to speak, I could look into your thoughts." Castiel said to her. Honestly, he wasn't exactly sure how to read someone's mind like the other angels could. But he'd been doing quite a few things lately that he hadn't been able to do before, so he thought it couldn't hurt to try.

Mary-Anne fervently shook her head, her black curls bouncy around her shoulders. "No, I can tell you. My momma says that before you say something important you gotta collect your thoughts." Castiel nodded to that response. _That seems logical._ Mary-Anne took a deep breath and began her story.

"When I was little my papa died. I was really little, so I don't remember him well. But my momma says that he loved me very much. Sometimes I can see my momma, when she thinks I'm not watching, and I see her smile so big! It's like the light of the world is shining right out of her face. She just looks so happy, I know that she's thinking about papa.

A little while ago, some kids at school started teasing me. At first it was 'cause I had a dirty dress on. Then it was 'cause of my curly hair. Then they started teasing me that I didn't have a papa!" she lifted her head a little as she said this and Castiel could see the glistening of tears in her eyes. He felt a pang in his chest. _What is this feeling? It is not love, nor sadness, nor anger… _Castiel realized it was sympathy. Sympathy for the young child who had lost the father they could no longer remember. Castiel quickly wiped his eyes. _There seems to be a lot of tears on Earth. _Mary-Anne continued her story.

"They tell me things like, 'You don't have a daddy!' and 'You can't even remember what he looks like!' And when they say those things to me I just cry and cry and cry. I'm just so sad, mister, and I can't do anything about it. But then I remember my momma, and her big smiles when she remembers papa, and I think that maybe if I could remember papa too, maybe I wouldn't get teased as much? Maybe I could be just as happy as momma is when she thinks about my papa?" Mary-Anne looked up at Castiel, the hope once again in her eyes. "Mister, do you think you can help me remember my papa?"

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><p><strong>Thus ends Chapter two! Sorry for the extremely long wait, from now on I'm going to be updating within two weeks. Thanks for waiting patiently!<strong>


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